By William Wolf

THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ELEANOR RIGBY  Send This Review to a Friend

Despite the stalwart acting efforts of Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy, “The disappearance of Eleanor Rigby,” written and directed by Ned Benson, begins to get annoying for its pretentiousness as it attempts to look deep but is basically quite shallow.

Jessica Chastain, a talent interesting to observe, plays the Eleanor of the title. She attempts suicide but quite miraculously survives a bridge leap. As the film explores her as a troubled soul and the breakup of her marriage to Conor (McAvoy), we see her getting help from Viola Davis as a professor. There are some good moments between them and Davis has a commanding screen presence.

There is an at first unspoken about secret in the liaison between Eleanor and Conor. Eventually we learn what it is, why Jessica has become so depressed and why the event has caused a strain in the marriage. Can the relationship be repaired?

The film gains from two other cast members, Isabelle Huppert as Jessica’s mother and a very subdued William Hurt as her father. Other good supporting performances are contributed by Ciaran Hinds, Bill Hader and Nina Arianda. But acting contributions aside, the film gathers an increasingly contrived aura, with the writing and direction extremely mannered. A Weinstein Company release. Reviewed September 13, 2014.

  

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